Practical Ecclesiology (6)
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Objective of the Church: Worship
I really enjoy you guys midterms. Love hear the testimonys from Pastor Criag from PA, Pastor Dennis White, The Plunkets , Pastor Bailey .
Early Christianity differed strikingly from other religions in the Roman world.
No cult statue’s
No Temples
No regular sacrifices ( weather animal or produce)
Or the customary musical accompaniment.
But early Christianity primarily had verbal character
Also had strong historical ties, Because of Judism.
The early church didn’t have strong rituals preformed.
Very simple easily transportable. As far as the structure was concerned.
America church planting is difficult because theres so much thats involved.
People have high expectations on how they pick a church.
Its no longer let me pick a church based upon the leading of God. Am I growing , am I being used etc.
Its now hows the sunday school
Do they have tea time with the women's ministry.
Is the Pastor saying what I want him to say.
John 4:21-24 “Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.””
“The Hour” Jesus is referring to is the church age. After Jesus death the inauguration of a new phase of worship.
Some times we worship our ideas of God but not worshiping God.
God sets the terms and conditions under which we must worship Him.
In the theophany of the burning bush with Moses, God told Moses to take off your shoes this is Holy ground.
You just don’t come as you are theres terms and conditions.
If you want to come to The Father you have to go through Christ. You cant just skip the line.
There are allot of sincere and genuine people that are going to hell.
There are two kinds of Christians one that believes in God and one that believes that He believes in God.
Because of the work of The Spirit. Worship is longer be centered in temples or on mountains. Like Mount Zion
-In Zimbabwe they have these people called Vapostori. They would worship by water falls and only will have services outside. Sing literally all day.
-Isalm apart of the 5 pillars of there faith they have to go to mecca.
-The wailing wall in Jerusalem. People come out to pray in this holy city.
God is Spirit therefore worship must be a spiritual act.
vs 23 Romans 1:25 “who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
Everybody is a worshiper.
But because of sin many people put there faith in worthless objects.
God does not want us to worship in falsehood.
Thats why He makes the worship explicit and clear. John 3:21, John 14:6, Acts 4:12
Christ is the only way to the Father.
A Christian as a believer-priest is occupied with four sacrifices:
The sacrifice of our body:
Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
The basis of Pauls exhortation is Gods mercy.
Gods compassion is describe in the first 11 chapters in Romans.
Offering your body is the totality of one’s life and activities, of which his body is the vehicle expression.
2. The sacrifice of praise - Confession with your mouth.
Hebrews 13:15 “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”
3. The sacrifice of good works
Hebrews 13:16 “But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
4. The sacrifice of sharing or stewardship.
Hebrews 13:16 “But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
God is well pleased with such sacrifice’s.
Worship is not a matter of form, or tradition, or circumstance.
Worship isn’t a mood. Or an emotional mood.
I noticed when some people when they seem to be worshipping there voice gets soft.
Or they begin to whisper.
Worship is the Spirit of God and The Word of God.
“Worship is not confined in great cathedrals, but is the adoration of the heart of the Christian as he expresses his praise and intercession to His Heavenly Father in the name of Christ.”
Prayer and praise are the principal elements of worship and are acts of direct communion of men with God.
Prayer before the first advent of Christ.
Prayer was offered by the patriarch in behalf of his household.
Job 1:5 “So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regularly.”
Also between Moses and Jesus prayer was made on behalf of the people.
Prayer also consisted of pleading the covenants of Yahweh.
1 Kings 8:22-26 “Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven; and he said: “Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. Therefore, Lord God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.’ And now I pray, O God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David my father.”
Neh 9:32 ““Now therefore, our God, The great, the mighty, and awesome God, Who keeps covenant and mercy: Do not let all the trouble seem small before You That has come upon us, Our kings and our princes, Our priests and our prophets, Our fathers and on all Your people, From the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.”
Daniel 9:4 “And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,”
The prayers where a combination of praise, and affirming what God had already told them or promised them.
Prayer about His Holy character.
Gen 18:25 “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?””
Exod. 32:11-14 “Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.”
RA Torrey quote
The whole book of Psalms is a compilation of Prayer, Praise and Worship.
John 17 The Prayer of Christ which consist of the true Lords Prayer.
Christ spent long seasons in prayer to His Father alone. Matt. 14:23 “And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.”
Luke 6:12 “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”
As soon as 5 minutes hit in our prayer time we ask God can we take a rain check.
A Theological Overview of worship
The only proper object of worship is the one God who created and redeemed humanity.
Deut 5:6-7 “‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Deut 6:4 ““Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!”
1 Cor 8:5-6 “For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”
Its important to establish the fact that He’s the only God , God doesnt give room to worship other God.
Col 1:15-20 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”
In the earlier times worship involved sacrifice at an altar.
Gen 8:20-21 “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.”
Gen 12:6-7 “Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”
Notes from ‘Why on earth are there churches”?
Acts 2:42 “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
“Breaking of Bread”
The Lords supper should be the most climatic experience of worship for the believer.
The Lord supper ascribes proper value and worth to the Lord Jesus Christ in the sense that it is done in “ remembrance of”